She made the mistake of looking in the mirror before she called him to help her back to bed. Her eyes were red and watery, her skin pasty and her hair was a mess. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand what he saw in her. Not like this. With all of his money, Simon could have anyone and he wanted her. She shook her head in disbelief and cried out when she stumbled against the sink, her head swimming.
The door burst open and he reached out, steadying her. Ruby’s heart raced and the nausea returned making her gag. He held her over the sink, tucking her hair back as she retched. When the gagging stopped, he held her against him while he got a cloth from the drawer, soaked it in cold water and handed it to her to wipe her face.
“Thanks.”
“Let’s get you back to bed.” Simon half carried, half walked her to the bedroom and tucked her in. He sat down and smoothed her hair back from her face. “Feel better now?”
Ruby rolled her eyes, the only thing she could move without wanting to throw up. “Oh yeah. I feel great. The picture of health.”
He laughed and a smile tugged at her lips. “At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“Sorry. That was bitchy of me.” She rested her hand on his and he twined his fingers through hers.
“It’s okay. I know how you hate feeling sick and useless.”
“And you’re being so nice trying to look after me. I do appreciate it even if it doesn’t show right now. I’ll apologize later when I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself.”
“I know. Listen, Mom dropped off some chicken soup. Do you think you’re up to a mug? Might be good to have something in your stomach before I give you more pills.”
Her heart melted. “Your mom made me soup? Oh, Simon. That’s so sweet.”
“She’s been dying to see you again. She’s missed you, Ruby.”
Tears filled her eyes and she dashed them away. Being sick made her emotional. At least that was what she put it down to. “Ignore me. I’m not usually so silly.”
He squeezed her hand. “I get it. How about you say hello to the dogs while I go and heat some up? They’ve had a big walk but are still keen to see how you are. They’ve been hovering by the bedroom door for ages willing you to wake up.”
“Sure.” She held her hand out and they all came and pushed in for attention. Simon lifted Ziggy onto the bed and she snuggled in beside Ruby’s pillow as if she were the favored one. “You’re spoiling her—you know that.”
“Yeah, but she deserves it. Besides, she’s adorable so it’s hard not to. I don’t know how anyone could desert her.” He stood and left her to her fur babies.
Ruby leaned back on the pillows and stroked her dogs’ soft heads, grateful that Simon was looking after them all. It made her think of what she’d missed but the reason why still niggled at her. She should’ve gotten over it by now and maybe she had. Otherwise she would’ve kicked him out. Not that she was in any shape to do that but still, she’d try it if she didn’t believe in him.
“Looks like we have some thinking to do, puppies. He’s making a huge effort. I guess I should too.”
Ziggy wiggled beside her and made snuffling noises. “I hear ya, Ziggy. He is a lovely man, despite what happened between us. Maybe we should give him another chance.” She closed her eyes, exhausted with the effort of making a decision.
When she opened her eyes again, the room was in darkness and Ziggy lay curled up beside her.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.” Simon stretched his legs out and got up from the small chair in the corner of her room by the shaded window. “Feeling better?”
He’d stayed while she slept to look after her. What a sweet man. But that was the Simon she used to know. Caring and kind. Nice to know that hadn’t changed. “Not sure. Too scared to move to find out.”
“Don’t blame you. You’ve slept all afternoon. How about I help you into the bathroom and we try that soup again? You must be starving.”
Ruby rolled over and waited for her head to spin but it only made her vision wobble slightly. She accepted his help and once she was tucked back in bed, he went to heat up the soup.
When Ruby tipped the mug to take the final drop, he smiled. “At last. The Ruby I know is showing her colors again.”
She handed him the mug and snuggled down under the blankets. “That was good. I really needed it. Thank your mom for me.”
“I will. Now, why don’t you go back to sleep and we can talk in the morning. I’ll be out on the couch if you need me.”
She yawned, the effort of drinking soup almost too much. “You don’t have to do that. Go home.” Ruby didn’t hear his answer; she was already asleep.
* * *
A wet nose sniffed over his cheek and broke Simon out of a dream. He wiped a hand up and was met with a tongue lashing over his fingers. He dug his fingers into the fur and pulled Tilly, the cattle cross close for a cuddle. “Need to go out, girl?” He’d opened his eyes to find her in the face. “Right.”
Simon rolled off the couch and stumbled to the back door, where the other dogs were hovering eager to escape. They ran outside, sniffed and did their business while he stood leaning on the door frame.
“Hey.”
He whipped around. Ruby stood in her PJ's, her hand on
